Kelvinina

Kelvinina is a fictional inorganic mineral described in speculative mineralogy and educational materials. It is presented as a hydrated potassium aluminum silicate with a layered, sheet-like structure related to phyllosilicates such as micas. In most narratives, Kelvinina forms in late-stage pegmatites as fluids interact with aluminosilicate hosts, yielding crystals that are commonly pale colorless to pale green.

Etymology and naming reflect its fictional origin. The name Kelvinina honors the physicist William Thomson, Lord Kelvin, for his work on thermodynamics and temperature scales. The term was proposed in a theoretical context and has since appeared in teaching exemplars as a case study of mineral structure and property presentation.

Crystal structure and properties are described consistently across sources within the fictional corpus. Kelvinina is said to crystallize in the monoclinic system, comprising silicate layers formed by corner-sharing tetrahedra of silicon and aluminum linked through oxygen. It is typically colorless to pale green with a vitreous luster. Hardness is placed around 4–5 on the Mohs scale; it exhibits weak basal cleavage and a moderate fracture. Optical properties are reported as uniaxial positive with refractive indices near 1.55–1.60.

Occurrence and formation narratives place Kelvinina in high-temperature, low-pressure pegmatitic pockets within a fictional region called the Kelvin Highlands, where potassium-rich melts interact with aluminosilicate hosts.

Applications and significance are speculative. In fiction, Kelvinina is proposed as a potential ceramic precursor, catalyst support, or ion-exchange material, valued for dehydration behavior and heat tolerance in hypothetical industrial scenarios.

Note: Kelvinina is a hypothetical mineral used for illustration and does not represent a real mineral species.